Panther Sighting, Kyneton, 80's.

[SaintGuy]

I often bring up the subject of big cats with locals and bushies, and more often than not my queries are met with understanding and acceptance, including stories of their own.
One such case is with Matt, a local of Kyneton. I paraphrase-'I was walking home late one night with my mate when I saw a big black cat bounding across the road and without a whisper plunging into the dense underbrush beside the road. My hair stood up on end. I was so frightened I got my mate to walk with me all the way home, then he had to walk back alone to his place! I know people say it was probably just a big feral cat, but I know what I saw, and it was a big cat.'
Just another confirmation.

[Mike Williams]

Thanks for the story..you live in a crypto heaven for large cats compared to many of us in NSW.

Mike

[lil foot]

gday mike
i think your mistaking where saintguy lives as opposed to where his story comes from.
mornington is definately no panther hotspot.......although not too far south from here is arthurs seat where a man saw a large fawn colored cat like a mountain lion back in the 80s, i remember reading it in the local paper and being very interested in it, as we had a holiday house at the base of the hill for 30 years, and i was always weary when running up the track under the chairlift, but never saw anything.
someone may be able to find the article somehow, it would have been around summer 84 to 87.

[SaintGuy]

Matt was down here for a local dive, and i talked to him then. However, now that you mention it, lil foot, I heard there was also a sighting along the back beach at Rye not too long ago. A delivery driver I work with said he saw one early in the morning walk across the road at the National Golf course- he just didn't seem too shocked about it. I have felt that maybe I shouldn't walk down at Cape Schank late one evening- just had that feeling.
So, yes, the cats seem to have spread down this way too.

[lil foot]

if thats the case, it seems that these cats as well as thylacines enjoy the coastal habitat as there are numerous siteings of both in the area of loch sport (ninety mile beach), cape paterson, the prom and also around the portland area.
id imagine that the food supply would be plenty in the form of birdlife and washed up dead animals. but the only problem i see is a fresh water supply, other than farm dams.
as for cape schanck, many years ago we saw deer in the very small coast bush at bushrangers bay, and of course there is a big mob of roos there, this bush is also linked by the creek and bush reserves to redhill and arthurs seat,so id think this would be a great location to do some research.

[SaintGuy]

I am amazed by the number of roos at Cape Schank/Bushrangers Bay/Greens Bush. They alone would easily support a handful of big cats.
If anyone wants to go for a walk...?